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Snowball Earth – The Granddaddy of All Ice Ages – Part I

So, we all unanimously agree what Earth looks like today – it’s a blue orb with liquid water and a protective atmosphere that helps to sustain life (of course we mean no disrespect for the conspiracy theorists who believe in Flat Earth theory). Let us rewind approximately 650 million years back in time. If really we could get our hands on time travel, the view of Earth ~650 million years ago (mya) would have left us in complete dismay. What we would be looking at would be planet completely blanketed with ice.

In essence we would be looking at a frozen planet that today we call home and for millions of years, other life forms have called it home. This is known as the Snowball Earth – a theory which states that about 650 mya, Earth was either completely frozen or was almost completely frozen. According to the theory, back in those days, our planet was covered by a single sheet of ice extending from pole to pole. Scientists however think that Snowball Earth was not a single incident and that it happened multiple times with the duration of each event varying.

Some experts say that prior to Snowball Earth, there was at least one more global-scale glaciation somewhere between 2,400 and 2,100 mya. This global glaciation has a different name – Huronian Glaciation. Those who support the global glaciation theory (that is those who support Snowball Earth and Huronian Glaciation) say that Huronian Glaciation triggered what is known as Great Oxygenation Event – the event when oxygen appeared in Earth’s atmosphere for the very first time. Similarly, the proponents of global glaciation also say that Snowball Earth resulted in multi-cellular organism evolution on this planet.

Now that we have a faint idea about Snowball Earth, let us try and answer some of the commonest questions asked about this theory. In the process, we will learn a few interesting concepts. You ready? Of course you are!

Temperatures at equator stayed at nearly -20 degrees Celsius or -68 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the temperature that we face today in Antarctica.

Even the water bodies froze there were not oceanic activities that could moderate fluctuations in temperatures that are usually caused by cycles of day and night.

The whole of earth turned into a solid surface made of ice.

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Question: Who came up with the theory of Snowball Earth and how?

Answer: The credit for the theory goes to Joe Kirschvink from Caltech, Pasadena. Actually he coined the term. He was actually working with the works of Jim Kasting, Hal Marshall and James Walker – three well-know atmospheric scientists. Basically, Joe was studying Marinoan Glaciation (Snowball Earth) and found that the glaciation had a character of self-reversing and ended up connecting runaway ice-albedo with the glaciation event. A runaway ice-albedo is a process in which formation of ice covers due to cooling leads to reduced solar energy absorption because ice is known to reflect away sunlight instead of absorbing. The reduction in absorbed solar energy lead to further cooling and hence, increase in the ice cover, which eventually lead to a complete ice blanket on earth. The theory was radical and people were having hard time accepting it. It was only in 1998, when a paper with Paul Hoffman from Harvard University as lead author was published that the Snowball Earth received a significant attention.

In the paper Hoffman actually said that the 3rd prediction made by Kirschvink (ultra-greenhouse aftermaths) actually explains cap-carbonates which are found in post-glacial periods. One of the most characteristic features of the Snowball Earth is the presence of cap-carbonates.

Question: So, what the hell are these cap-carbonates?

Answer: Cap-carbonates are actually rocks. They are continuously layered and are either dolostone or limestone or both. They have very distinctive texture and are results of glacial meltdowns. Their thickness range between 3 and 30 meters. Cap-carbonates are usually the result of chemical precipitation and are often found in areas that are absolutely devoid of carbonate rocks. Cap-carbonates have distinctive features that vary very significantly from standard carbonates.

Not only the chemical compositions of cap-carbonates differ from standard carbonates, they also have weird-looking sedimentary structures that often look like gigantic ripples. They are also often characterized by tubular structures and microbial mounds.

Scientists have not reached a unanimous agreement on how the cap-carbonates formed after Snowball Earth but it is usually argued that after deglaciation, the excess CO2 that was present in atmosphere was dissolved in water from glacial ice meltdown, resulting in formation of carbonic acid. The resulting carbonic acid would have then poured down as acid rain, reacting with carbonate rocks and silicate to release calcium in high volumes. The released calcium was then washed down into oceans, forming sedimentary carbonate rocks with distinctive textures. The Snowball Earth was proposed in the first place because of the discovery of an abiotic cap-carbonate.

However, the attempted explanation for cap-carbonate formation has some problems that are listed below:

Founder and Chief Editor of Facts Legend, Sankalan believes that information should be free. He is a dreamer and loves reading, writing, traveling and above all, sleeping. Sometimes he gets really confused about things happening in life but then again, he manages to get things back on track. He practices Tai Chi whenever he gets time. Slightly unsocial by nature, he still manages to get along with people pretty well. He hates politics and absolutely hates people who like to judge others.